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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27393697">always have been (always will be)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/xogray/pseuds/xogray'>xogray</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Post-The Heroes of Olympus, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, let percy cry !!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:09:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,200</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27393697</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/xogray/pseuds/xogray</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“you… you don’t have to be strong all the time, you know?” she said carefully. “it’s just me here. it’s okay if you’re upset about whatever you saw.”</p>
<p>- or the one in which percy finally shares his nightmares with annabeth</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>109</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>always have been (always will be)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“annabeth, <em>please!”</em> he shouted, stumbling after her. “i’m right here!” percy was so, <em>so</em> close but he couldn’t reach her. and he wouldn’t be able to reach her. with the curses placed on her right now, she was blind and staggering through tartarus, thinking percy had completely abandoned her. he wondered if she could hear his voice at all. “annabeth!”</p>
<p>she gave no indication that she could hear him. percy ran faster but no matter what, it was never enough. she stayed just a few feet out of reach regardless of how hard he tried to fight it. he could hear her repeating his name over and over and over. he could hear her choked sobs as she blindly looked for him.</p>
<p>panic rose higher in percy’s throat when he noticed the cliff a couple of yards ahead of her. he couldn’t tell if it was a one-foot drop or a one-hundred-foot drop. the desperation in him bubbled over and he found himself going hysterical as he tried to stop her from walking.</p>
<p>“annabeth! beth, please!” he cried out. she couldn’t hear him, he was sure of that now. still, he didn’t stop. “stop walking, annabeth! please, i’m right here!”</p>
<p>she was two feet away from the cliff when percy realized the gap between them was closing and he was slowly getting closer. and closer. and closer.</p>
<p>but not close enough.</p>
<p>his fingertips had just touched her sleeve when annabeth lost her balance and tumbled over the edge. she let out a blood-curdling scream as she fell at least 70 feet. a strangled yelp escaped percy’s throat as he collapsed to the ground, watching his girlfriend plummet. her screams echoed, making every hair on his body stand on end.</p>
<p>just before annabeth hit the ground below her, percy’s eyes snapped open and he bolted upright. his chest was heaving as he took in the dark bedroom around him. annabeth was next to him, in the process of waking up. </p>
<p>but she was alive.</p>
<p>percy watched her as she sat up groggily and wrapped her arms around one of his biceps. “it was just a dream,” annabeth whispered gently, looking up at him with tired eyes. he reached up and cupped her cheek as if to check that she was really there and really with him. “what happened?” she asked.</p>
<p>percy shook his head. annabeth dealt with her own share of nightmares. the last thing percy wanted to do was burden her with his, too. “it’s fine,” he said, laying back down, “i’m fine.”</p>
<p>annabeth sighed and laid next to him before tugging him closer. “come here,” she said quietly. and no matter how much he wanted to deal with this on his own, he couldn’t resist the offer to be close to her after what he’d just seen. he could still hear her scream echoing in his head.</p>
<p>percy let annabeth wrap her arm around his shoulders and he buried his face in the crook of her neck. her hair was still slightly damp from being washed before bed and he could smell the strong scent of lemon. he let the smell of her body and her easy breathing calm him down. she was here and she was alive.</p>
<p>“percy?” annabeth whispered.</p>
<p>“hm?”</p>
<p>“you… you don’t have to be strong all the time, you know?” she said carefully. “it’s just me here. it’s okay if you’re upset about whatever you saw.”</p>
<p>maybe it was the soft tone of her voice or the words themselves, but something in percy snapped and the tears started before he could fight them off. his body shook with silent sobs as he hugged his girlfriend tightly. annabeth pulled him towards her and he slid closer until he was practically on top of her, his face still pressed against her neck. her arms wrapped around him tightly. one hand traveled up to run her fingers through his hair and the other ran up and down his back.</p>
<p>“i got you,” she said, her lips pressed against his ear. “we’re together. i’m right here, i’m not letting you go.”</p>
<p><em>we’re together.</em> percy noticed she said that often and every time she did, he loved her for it. them being together, whether it be in the depths of tartarus or in their small apartment, was always what mattered most to him and she knew this.</p>
<p>“i understand why you don’t tell me your nightmares,” annabeth said, still letting him sob against her, “but i can handle them, percy. i want to be there for you like you always are for me. you can talk to me.”</p>
<p>percy tried to control his breathing and when he finally did, his body was overcome with exhaustion and fatigue. he hated crying. he pressed one tiny, soft kiss to annabeth’s neck before sighing quietly.</p>
<p>“we were… down there,” he said quietly, focusing on the way her fingers idly combed through locks of his hair, “and it was when… when you were blind and you thought i had left you. i couldn’t get to you and you couldn’t hear me and-” another sob took over his body and she held him tighter.</p>
<p>“i’m here,” she reminded him quietly. percy nodded and took several deep breaths before he was able to continue.</p>
<p>“you were walking towards a cliff and i didn’t get there in time. you- i was just barely able to touch your sleeve before you fell. and i watched you fall. gods, your scream, i-” he cut himself off with a sharp inhale, a few more silent tears falling.</p>
<p>annabeth kissed his temple a few times. “it wasn’t real,” she whispered. “you always catch me. you always have, you always will. and we’re together. always have been, always will be.”</p>
<p>percy nodded, letting her words wash over him. she was right, as usual. countless times, they’d saved each other. and percy knew, without doubt, they would save each other a million more times in their life together. they always caught each other.</p>
<p>but still, percy couldn’t get the image of her falling or the sound of her scream out of his mind. he lifted his head to lock eyes with her. the sun must’ve begun to rise because there was a faint blue light coming in through the window. annabeth’s eyes reflected the color, appearing as a dark silvery-steel blue color. she was clearly still tired but she watched him intently. her hand cupped his jaw and her thumb swiped along his cheek, wiping away what was left of his tears.</p>
<p>underneath him, percy could feel the slight rise and fall of her chest with each breath she took. he could feel her heartbeat, slow and steady. her thumb moved against his cheek and she waited patiently for him to say something. and annabeth, he knew, wasn’t usually a patient person. but she was when it came to him.</p>
<p>“we’re together,” he whispered, leaning into her hand. the corners of her lips turned upwards. with the hand that wasn’t on his face, she intertwined her fingers with his and brought them up to her lips to kiss them.</p>
<p>“we’re together,” she agreed, murmuring the words against the back of his palm. “always.”</p>
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